Blogs from Perugia, Umbria, Italy, Europe - page 2

Day One So far so good. Smooth flight to Rome. I was able to nap on the plane and on the drive to our first stop, Castiglione del Largo. This small, quaint, quiet, off the beaten track town is located on the shore of lake Tresimeno, the largest lake in Central Italy. The day was perfect for touring, partly cloudy and about 55 degrees. We strolled the main street of town past specialty shops, one featuring beans, another pasta, a third cheese. All offered wine for sale. Pat and I were both hungry and while looking for a restaurant that offered outdoor seating in the sun we were overheard by a young Brit who recommended a bar up the street. Sure enough there was seating to the rear on a terrace that overlooked the lake. We ... read more

Finally, here we are, the last entry of nearly two months on the road. I have to admit, this summer has been a pretty fascinating one! And I'm already in the process of preparing another crazy summer holidays...coming in 2016! It's kind of fun to write this the same day the kids a starting a new week of school holidays...so more diving is coming pretty soon on travelblog! I rented a car in Rome to go North-West. This you know already if you have read my last blog. There is a lot between Rome and San Marino. So this was an exercise in experimenting as much as I could...knowing that what ever I did, time was just not on my side. So treat this entry simply as a teaser. If there is a country in Europe ... read more

After an early start we left Sorrento via ferry, where they tried yo charge us again for the baggaes, i was told it was for the return trip. you must be careful they do try to swingle tourists. And we certainly look like them.Not the Griswalds but not far off! From the train we caught a taxi from yhe station to the car rental office. the queue was so long so after over an hour wait we were hot and bothered. Finally we got the paperwork to go and oick up the car another hundred metres down the road. So now in the new car whose controls are like an airship we set off in our Ford Kuga which obviously isn't quite the euro car brand, but certainly spacious and safe. And it needs to be ... read more

On our last day in Umbria and Tuscany, Fiona finally managed to get a photograph of a field of sunflowers. Fiona and Toby left Harriet in bed for the second day in a row. Today it was to go back to the Prada outlet and buy a handbag. For the second time Fiona didn't see any she liked and left disappointed. Toby, however, found a t shirt and a cardigan and is now a Prada fan. We picked Harriet up and went into Purugia for the last time. This time we were headed slightly out of town to the Purigina Chocolate factory. This is where all chocolate Baci are made. Wherever you buy them around the world, they are made here. We joined a tour and learnt about the history and the process of making Baci. ... read more

Pilgrimage to Orvieto to see the cathedral. Incredible but a bit too colorful for Mark's taste. North to castiglione del Lago, an old fortress town on a peninsular jutting out into lake trasameno. Walked around the palazzo and adjoining fortress walls. Around the top of the lake toward Perugia and found our next farmhouse at Casale Della Staffa, an old farm building for housing the stock and coaches on the ground level and the farm worker families above. Again a fantastic two storey suite in the bell tower. Sitting room on first level and bedroom and en suite above. Entire wall facing the bed was made up of four windows that gave us a panoramic view of the Umbrian landscape as we woke up each morning. Beautiful breakfast each morning in enormous salon with antique furnitre ... read more